Transmission apparatus and transmission method of control signaling in a wireless communications system

ABSTRACT

An transmission apparatus of the present disclosure comprises a transmission signal generator which generates a transmission signal that includes a legacy preamble, a non-legacy preamble and a data field, wherein the non-legacy preamble comprises a first signal field and a second signal field, the second signal field comprising a first channel field and a second channel field, each of the first channel field and the second channel field comprising a common field that carries resource assignment information for one or more terminal stations and a user-specific field that carries per-user allocation information for the one or more terminal stations, and wherein a part of the user-specific field of one of the first channel field and the second channel field whichever is longer than the other channel field in length before appending padding bits is relocated to the other channel field; and a transmitter which transmits the generated transmission signal.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally pertains to wireless communications and, more particularly, to a method for formatting and transmitting control signaling in a wireless communications system.

2. Description of the Related Art

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 Working Group is developing 802.11ax HE (High Efficiency) WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) air interface in order to achieve a very substantial increase in the real-world throughput achieved by users in high density scenarios. OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) multiuser transmission has been envisioned as one of the most important features in 802.11ax. OFDMA is a multiple access scheme that performs multiple operations of data streams to and from the plurality of users over the time and frequency resources of the OFDM system.

Studies are underway to perform frequency scheduling for OFDMA multiuser transmission in 802.11ax. According to frequency scheduling, a radio communication access point apparatus (hereinafter simply “access point” or “AP”) adaptively assigns subcarriers to a plurality of radio communication station apparatuses (hereinafter simply “terminal stations” or “STAs”) based on reception qualities of frequency bands of the STAs. This makes it possible to obtain a maximum multiuser diversity effect and to perform communication quite efficiently.

Frequency scheduling is generally performed based on a Resource Unit (RU). A RU comprises a plurality of consecutive subcarriers. The RUs are assigned by an AP to each of a plurality of STAs with which the AP communicates. The resource assignment result of frequency scheduling performed by the AP shall be reported to the STAs as resource assignment information. In addition, the AP shall also report other control signaling such as common control information and per-user allocation information to STAs. See, for example, IEEE802.11-15/0132r9, Specification Framework for TGax, September 2015, IEEE802.11-15/1066r0, HE-SIG-B Contents, September 2015, and IEEE Std 802.11ac-2013.

SUMMARY

As flexibility in frequency scheduling increases, more signaling bits are needed to report control signaling (i.e., common control information, resource assignment information and per-user allocation information) to STAs. This results in an increase of the overhead for reporting control signaling. So there is a relationship of trade-off between flexibility in frequency scheduling and overhead for reporting control signaling. A challenge is how to achieve flexible frequency scheduling while reducing an increase of the overhead for reporting the control signaling.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature: a transmission apparatus of the present disclosure comprising a transmission signal generator which, in operation, generates a transmission signal that includes a legacy preamble, a non-legacy preamble and a data field, wherein the non-legacy preamble comprises a first signal field and a second signal field, the second signal field comprising a first channel field and a second channel field that are located in different frequency subbands, each of the first channel field and the second channel field comprising a common field that carries resource assignment information for one or more terminal stations and a user-specific field that carries per-user allocation information for the one or more terminal stations, and a part of the user-specific field of one of the first channel field and the second channel field whichever is longer than the other channel field in length before appending padding bits is relocated to the other channel field; and a transmitter which, in operation, transmits the generated transmission signal.

With the transmission apparatus and transmission method of control signaling of the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve flexible frequency scheduling while supressing an increase of the overhead for reporting the control signaling.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/or advantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, which need not all be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/or advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram illustrating the format of an HE packet complying with the IEEE 802.11ax specification framework document;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram illustrating an example OFDMA structure of the HE data field of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz;

FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating an example structure of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz;

FIG. 4 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz;

FIG. 5 shows a diagram illustrating another example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz;

FIG. 6 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a diagram illustrating an example format of the HE-SIG-B of the HE packet in case of CBW=40 MHz according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of AP according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of STA according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings. In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations has been omitted for clarity and conciseness.

<Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the Present Disclosure>

FIG. 1 illustrates the format of a High Efficiency (HE) packet 100 complying with the IEEE 802.11ax specification framework document. The HE packet 100 includes: a legacy preamble comprising a legacy short training field (L-STF) 102, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 104 and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 106; an HE preamble comprising a repeated L-SIG field (RL-SIG) 108, a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) 110, a second HE signal field (HE-SIG-B) 112, an HE short training field (HE-STF) 114 and an HE long training field (HE-LTF) 116; and a HE data field 120.

The legacy preamble (102, 104, 106) is used to facilitate backwards compatibility with the legacy 802.11a/g/n/ac standards. The L-STF 102 and L-LTF 104 are primarily used for packet detection, auto gain control (AGC) setting, frequency offset estimation, time synchronization and channel estimation. The L-SIG 106, together with the RL-SIG 108 in the HE preamble, is used to assist in differentiating the HE packet 100 from the legacy 802.11a/g/n/ac packets.

The HE-SIG-A 110 in the HE preamble carries common control information required to interpret the remaining fields of the HE packet 100, e.g., CBW (Channel Bandwidth), the number of HE-SIG-B symbols and the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) used for the HE-SIG-B 112, etc.

The HE-SIG-B 112 in the HE preamble contains resource assignment information and per-user allocation information for designated receiving STAs especially for downlink (DL) multiuser (MU) transmission. The HE-SIG-B 112 does not exist in the HE packet 100 if it intends to be used for single user (SU) transmission or for uplink (UL) MU transmission. For UL MU transmission, resource assignment information and per-user allocation information for designated transmitting STAs are preset at the AP and transmitted in a trigger frame by the AP to the designated transmitting STAs.

The HE-STF 114 in the HE preamble is used to reset AGC and reduces the dynamic range requirement on the ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter). The HE-LTF 116 in the HE preamble is provided for MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) channel estimation for receiving and equalizing the HE data field 120.

The HE data field 120 carries the payload for one or more STAs. For a specific STA in terms of SU transmission or a specific group of STAs in terms of MU-MIMO transmission, the payload is carried on a designated resource in units of RU spanning a plurality of OFDM symbols. A RU may have different types depending on the number of constituent subcarriers per RU. OFDM symbols in the HE data field 120 shall use a DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) period of 12.8 μs and subcarrier spacing of 78.125 kHz. The number of subcarriers per OFDM symbol depends on the value of CBW. For example, in case of CBW=40 MHz, the number of subcarriers per OFDM symbol is 512. Therefore for a specific type of RU, the maximum number of RUs per OFDM symbol depends on a size of CBW as well.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example OFDMA structure of the HE data field 120 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz. The Type I RU comprises 26 consecutive tones and has a bandwidth of about 2 MHz. The Type II RU comprises 52 consecutive tones and has a bandwidth of about 4.1 MHz. The Type III RU comprises 106 consecutive tones and has a bandwidth of about 8.3 MHz. The Type IV RU comprises 242 consecutive tones and has a bandwidth of about 18.9 MHz. The Type V RU comprises 484 consecutive tones and has a bandwidth of about 37.8 MHz. The maximum number of Type I RUs, Type II RUs, Type III RUs, Type IV RUs and Type V RUs which the 40 MHz OFDMA is able to support is eighteen, eight, four, two and one, respectively. A mix of different types of RUs can also be accommodated in the 40 MHz OFDMA.

Details of transmission processing for the L-STF 102, L-LTF 104, L-SIG 106, RL-SIG 108, HE-SIG-A 110, HE-SIG-B 112, HE-STF 114, HE-LTF 116 and HE data field 120 can be found in the IEEE 802.11ax specification framework document.

In particular, the HE-SIG-B 112 is encoded on a per 20 MHz subband basis. For CBW=40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 80+80 MHz, the number of 20 MHz subbands carrying different content is two. The HE-SIG-B symbols shall use a DFT period of 3.2 μs and subcarrier spacing of 312.5 kHz. The number of data subcarriers per HE-SIG-B symbol is 52.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example structure of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz. The HE-SIG-B 112 comprises two channel fields: HE-SIG-B1 302 and HE-SIG-B2 304 that use different frequency subband channels. The HE-SIG-B1 302 is transmitted over the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 while the HE-SIG-B2 304 is transmitted over the second 20 MHz subband channel 324.

The resource assignment information and per-user allocation information for one allocation that is fully located within a 20 MHz subband channel are carried in one of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields and are transmitted over the same 20 MHz subband channel. In more details, the HE-SIG-B1 302 carries resource assignment information and per-user allocation information for the allocations (e.g., 312) that are fully located within the first 20 MHz subband channel 322, while the HE-SIG-B2 304 carries resource assignment information and per-user allocation information for the allocations (e.g., 314) that are fully located within the second 20 MHz subband channel 324. In this way, even if control signaling in a 20 MHz subband channel (e.g., 322) is corrupted due to interference, the control signaling in another 20 MHz subband channel (e.g., 324) can be decoded properly.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz. Each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields comprises a common field 410 and a user-specific field 450. Each common field 410 comprises a resource allocation subfield 412, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) subfield and a tail bits subfield, each of which has a predetermined length.

In context of the HE-SIG-B1 302, the resource allocation subfield 412 contains a RU arrangement pattern index which indicates a specific RU arrangement pattern in the frequency domain (including MU-MIMO related information) for the first 20 MHz subband channel 322. The mapping of RU arrangement pattern indices and the corresponding RU arrangement patterns is predetermined. An example mapping of RU arrangement pattern indices and the corresponding RU arrangement patterns is shown in Table 1. Notice that RUs are arranged from lower frequency to higher frequency in the frequency domain within a 20 MHz subband channel and Type I RUs and Type II RUs can be used for SU-MIMO transmission only.

TABLE 1 Mapping of RU arrangement pattern indices and the corresponding RU arrangement patterns RU Arrangement Pattern Index RU Arrangement Pattern 0 9 Type I RUs 1 1 Type II RU, followed by 7 Type I RUs 2 2 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU and 5 Type I RUs 3 5 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU and 2 Type I RUs 4 7 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU 5 2 Type II RUs, followed by 5 Type I RUs 6 1 Type II RU, followed by 3 Type I RUs, 1 Type II RU and 2 Type I RUs 7 1 Type II RU, followed by 5 Type I RUs and 1 Type II RU 8 2 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU, 1 Type I RU, 1 Type II RU and 2 Type I RUs 9 2 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU, 3 Type I RUs and 1 Type II RU 10 5 Type I RUs, followed by 2 Type II RUs 11 2 Type II RUs, followed by 1 Type I RU, 1 Type II RU and 2 Type I RUs 12 2 Type II RUs, followed by 3 Type I RUs and 1 Type II RU 13 1 Type II RU, followed by 3 Type I RUs and 2 Type II RUs 14 2 Type I RUs, followed by 1 Type II RU, 1 Type I RU and 2 Type II RUs 15 2 Type II RUs, followed by 1 Type I RU and 2 Type II RUs 16 1 Type III RU for SU-MIMO transmission, followed by 5 Type I RUs 17 1 Type III RU for SU-MIMO transmission, followed by 3 Type I RUs and 1 Type II RU 18 1 Type III RU for SU-MIMO transmission, followed by 1 Type I RU, 1 Type II RU and 2 Type I RUs

With reference to Table 1, for example, the resource allocation subfield 412-1 included in the HE-SIG-B1 302 may contain a RU arrangement pattern index of 25 to indicate a specific RU arrangement pattern for the first 20 MHz subband channel where five Type I RUs followed by one Type III RU in the frequency domain, and each of five Type I RUs is used for SU-MIMO transmission while the Type III RU is used for MU-MIMO transmission with two users multiplexed. Similarly, in context of the HE-SIG-B2 304, the resource allocation subfield 412-2 may contain another RU arrangement pattern index that indicates a specific RU arrangement pattern in the frequency domain and MU-MIMO related information for the second 20 MHz subband channel 324.

Each user-specific field 450 comprises a plurality of BCC (Binary Convolutional Coding) blocks. Each of the BCC blocks except the last BCC block comprises a first user-specific subfield, a second user-specific subfield, a CRC subfield and a tail bits subfield, each of which has a predetermined length. The last BCC block may comprise a single user-specific subfield. Each of user-specific subfields in the user-specific field 450 carries per-user allocation information (e.g., the STA identifier for addressing and the user-specific transmission parameters such as the number of spatial streams and MCS, etc.). For each RU assigned for SU-MIMO transmission, there is only a single corresponding user-specific subfield. For each RU assigned for MU-MIMO transmission with K users multiplexed, there are K corresponding user-specific subfields. The ordering of user-specific subfields in the user-specific field 450 of one HE-SIG-B channel field is compliant with the RU arrangement pattern signaled by the resource allocation subfield 412 of the same HE-SIG-B channel. The number of the user-specific subfields in the user-specific field 450 of one HE-SIG-B channel can be derived from the resource allocation subfield 412 of the same HE-SIG-B channel.

It should be noted that padding bits may be appended to the end of the HE-SIG-B1 302 and/or the HE-SIG-B2 304 for the last symbol alignment and for keeping the same time duration between the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304.

However, there may exist significant load imbalance between the two HE-SIG-B channel fields 302 and 304 (i.e., one HE-SIG-B channel field may be much longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field in length before appending the padding bits). In the example of FIG. 5, there are three allocations over the first 20 MHz subband channel 322, which are used for MU-MIMO transmission with six users multiplexed, SU-MIMO transmission and MU-MIMO transmission with seven users multiplexed, respectively. Here, each BCC block comprises two user-specific subfields. Thus, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) in the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 14 and 7, respectively. On the other hand, there is six allocations over the second 20 MHz subband channel 324, each of which is used for SU-MIMO transmission. Thus, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) in the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 6 and 3, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each common field 510 has a length of Lcf=22 bits;     -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits; and     -   the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 is VHT-MCS1 (see IEEE 802.11ac         standard) where the number of data bits per HE-SIG-B symbol         N_(DBPS) is 52.         So the number of HE-SIG-B symbols in this example is 8, which         can be calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{sym} = {\max \left\{ {\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},1}} - {\alpha_{1} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},2}} - {\alpha_{2} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil} \right\}}},} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where └x┘ represents the smallest integer not less than x, and

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{i} = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},i}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix},{i = 0},1.} \right.} & (2) \end{matrix}$

In order to keep the same time duration between the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 in this example, a few padding symbols need to be appended to the end of the HE-SIG-B2 304. It can be concluded that if one HE-SIG-B channel field is much longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field, significant number of padding symbols are required for the other HE-SIG-B channel field, resulting in significant overhead for reporting control signaling and compromised channel efficiency.

Next, various embodiments for the format of the HE-SIG-B 112 will be explained in further details, which can reduce overhead for reporting control signaling and improve channel efficiency significantly.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a part of the user-specific field of one HE-SIG-B channel field that is longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field in length before appending the padding bits is relocated to the other HE-SIG-B channel field so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus, overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved. The relocated part of the user-specific field is located at a predetermined position of the other HE-SIG-B channel field. The relocated part of the user-specific field may be transmitted using a transmission scheme that is more robust than that used for transmitting the other part of the user-specific field. As a result, STAs are able to decode the relocated part of the user-specific field properly even if the other HE-SIG-B channel field has a poor channel quality due to interference.

First Embodiment

According to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more last BCC blocks of the user-specific field of one HE-SIG-B channel field which is longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field in length before appending the padding bits are relocated to the other HE-SIG-B channel. By this relocation, the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus, overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

If the other HE-SIG-B channel field has a poor channel quality due to interference, the STAs whose corresponding BCC blocks are relocated to the other HE-SIG-B channel may not be able to decode resource allocation signaling in the other HE-SIG-B channel field properly and thus they cannot determine the number of original BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel field. In this case, if the relocated BCC blocks are located immediately after the original BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel field, the STAs cannot determine the start of the relocated BCC blocks and decode them properly.

According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the relocated BCC blocks are located at a predetermined position of the other HE-SIG-B channel field (e.g., at the end of the other HE-SIG-B channel field). The relocated BCC blocks may be duplicated one or more times in the other HE-SIG-B channel field. As a result, even if the other HE-SIG-B channel field has a poor channel quality due to interference, the STAs may still be able to decode the relocated BCC blocks properly.

According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of relocated BCC blocks N_(rblk) can be calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{rblk} = \left\lfloor \frac{{\max \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}} - {\min \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}}}{1 + R} \right\rfloor},} & (3) \end{matrix}$

where R is repetition factor and └x┘ represents the largest integer not more than x.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields comprises a common field 610 and a user-specific field 650. Each common field 610 comprises a resource allocation subfield, a number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 614, a repetition subfield 616, a CRC subfield and a tail bits subfield. The number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 614 of one HE-SIG-B channel field has a predetermined length and indicates how many BCC blocks have been relocated from the one HE-SIG-B channel field to the other HE-SIG-B channel field. The repetition subfield 616 of one HE-SIG-B channel has a predetermined length and indicates how many times the relocated BCC blocks are duplicated in the other HE-SIG-B channel field (i.e., indicates the value of the repetition factor R). Based on both the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 614 and the repetition subfield 616 of one HE-SIG-B channel field, the STAs can determine the start of the relocated BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel field, perform MRC (Maximum Ratio Combining) on the relocated BCC blocks if the repetition factor R is more than 1, and decode them properly.

Considering FIG. 6 is based on the same resource allocation as FIG. 5, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 14 and 7, respectively. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) for the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 6 and 3, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each common field 610 has a length of Lcf=22 bits;     -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits;     -   the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 is VHT-MCS1 where N_(DBPS)=52;         and     -   the repetition factor R=2.         It is easy to derive N_(rblk)=1 from Equation (3). So the number         of HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) becomes 7, which can be calculated         by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{sym} = {\max \left\{ {\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times \left( {N_{{blk},1} - N_{rblk}} \right)}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times \left( {N_{{blk},2} + {R \times N_{rblk}}} \right)} - {\left( {\alpha_{2} + \alpha_{1}} \right) \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil} \right\}}},} & (4) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{i} = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},i}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix},{i = 0},1.} \right.} & (5) \end{matrix}$

In other words, based on the same resource allocation, the first embodiment may require less HE-SIG-B symbols than the prior art.

Note that in the example of FIG. 6, the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 614-1 in the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall indicate a single relocated BCC block and the repetition subfield 616-1 in the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall indicate that the relocated BCC block is duplicated once (i.e., the repetition factor R=2); while the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 614-2 in the HE-SIG-B2 304 shall indicate that there are no relocated BCC blocks.

According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, as an alternative to signal the number of relocated BCC blocks and the value of the repetition factor R for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 in their respective common field 610, the number of relocated BCC blocks and the repetition factor R for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 can be signaled in the HE-SIG-A 110.

Second Embodiment

According to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more last BCC blocks of the user-specific field of one HE-SIG-B channel field which is longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field in length before appending the padding bits are relocated to the other HE-SIG-B channel field so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

According to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the relocated BCC blocks are located at a predetermined position of the other HE-SIG-B channel field (e.g., at the end of the other HE-SIG-B channel field). The relocated BCC blocks may be transmitted with a more robust MCS than the MCS used for other BCC blocks. As a result, even if the other HE-SIG-B channel field has a poor channel quality due to interference, the STAs may still be able to decode the relocated BCC blocks properly.

According to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of relocated BCC blocks N_(rblk) can be calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{rblk} = \left\lfloor \frac{{\max \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}} - {\min \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}}}{1 + {N_{{DBPS},{oblk}}/N_{{DBPS},{rblk}}}} \right\rfloor},} & (6) \end{matrix}$

where N_(DBPS,rblk) is the number of data bits per symbol for relocated BCC blocks, and N_(DBPS,oblk) is the number of data bits per symbol for other BCC blocks.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields comprises a common field 710 and a user-specific field 750. Each common field 710 comprises a resource allocation subfield, a number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 714, a MCS of relocated BCC blocks subfield 716, a CRC subfield and a tail bits subfield. The number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 714 of one HE-SIG-B channel field has a predetermined length and indicates how many BCC blocks have been relocated from the one HE-SIG-B channel field to the other HE-SIG-B channel field. The MCS of relocated BCC blocks subfield 716 of one HE-SIG-B channel field has a predetermined length and indicates the MCS that is used for the relocated BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel. Note that the MCS used for BCC blocks in the HE-SIG-B 112 other than the relocated BCC blocks can be indicated in the HE-SIG-A 110. Based on both the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 714 and the MCS of relocated BCC blocks subfield 716 in one HE-SIG-B channel field, the STAs can determine the start of the relocated BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel field and decode them properly.

Considering FIG. 7 is based on the same resource allocation as FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 14 and 7, respectively, while the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) for the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 6 and 3, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each common field 710 has a length of Lcf=22 bits;     -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits;     -   the MCS used for relocated BCC blocks is VHT-MCS0 where         N_(DBPS,rblk)=26; and     -   the MCS used for other BCC blocks is VHT-MCS1 where         N_(DBPS,oblk)=52.         It is easy to derive N_(rblk)=1 from Equation (6). So the number         of the HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) becomes 7, which can be         calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{sym} = {\max \left\{ {\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times \left( {N_{{blk},1} - N_{rblk}} \right)}}{N_{{DBPS},{oblk}}} \right\rceil,\left\lceil {\frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},2}} - {\alpha_{2} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{{DBPS},{oblk}}} + \frac{{L_{blk} \times N_{rblk}} - {\alpha_{1} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{{DBPS},{rblk}}}} \right\rceil} \right\}}},} & (7) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{i} = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},i}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix},{i = 0},1.} \right.} & (8) \end{matrix}$

In other words, based on the same resource allocation, the second embodiment may require less HE-SIG-B symbols than the prior art.

Note that in the example of FIG. 7, the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 714-1 in the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall indicate a single relocated BCC block and the MCS of relocated BCC blocks subfield 716-1 in the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall indicate the VHT-MCS0; while the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 714-2 in the HE-SIG-B2 304 shall indicate no relocated BCC blocks.

According to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, as an alternative to signal the number of relocated BCC blocks and the MCS of relocated BCC blocks for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 in their respective common field 710, the number of relocated BCC blocks and the MCS of relocated BCC blocks for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 can be signaled in the HE-SIG-A 110.

Third Embodiment

According to a third embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more last BCC blocks of the user-specific field of one HE-SIG-B channel field which is longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field in length before appending the padding bits are relocated to the other HE-SIG-B channel field so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus, overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the relocated BCC blocks are located at a predetermined position of the other HE-SIG-B channel field (e.g., at the end of the other HE-SIG-B channel field). The relocated BCC blocks may be transmitted with higher power than the other BCC blocks. As a result, even if the other HE-SIG-B channel field has a poor channel quality due to interference, the STAs may still be able to decode the relocated BCC blocks properly. However, power boosting of the relocated BCC blocks may result in higher PAPR (Peak-to-Average Power Ratio).

According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of relocated BCC blocks N_(rblk) can be calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {N_{rblk} = {\left\lfloor \frac{{\max \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}} - {\min \left\{ {N_{{blk},1},N_{{blk},2}} \right\}}}{2} \right\rfloor.}} & (9) \end{matrix}$

FIG. 8 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the two HE-SIG-B channels comprises a common field 810 and a user-specific field 850. Each common field 810 comprises a resource allocation subfield, a number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 814, a CRC subfield and a tail bits subfield. The number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 814 of one HE-SIG-B channel field has a predetermined length and indicates how many BCC blocks have been relocated from the one HE-SIG-B channel field to the other HE-SIG-B channel field. Based on the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 814 in one HE-SIG-B channel field, the STAs can determine the start of the relocated BCC blocks in the other HE-SIG-B channel field and decode them properly.

Considering FIG. 8 is based on the same resource allocation as FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 14 and 7, respectively. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) for the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 6 and 3, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each common field 810 has a length of Lcf=22 bits;     -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits; and     -   the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 is VHT-MCS1 where N_(DBPS)=52.         It is easy to derive N_(rblk)=2 from Equation (9). So the number         of the HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) becomes 6, which can be         calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{sym} = {\max \left\{ {\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times \left( {N_{{blk},1} - N_{rblk}} \right)}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times \left( {N_{{blk},2} + N_{rblk}} \right)} - {\left( {\alpha_{2} + \alpha_{1}} \right) \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil} \right\}}},} & (10) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{i} = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},i}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix},{i = 0},1.} \right.} & (11) \end{matrix}$

In other words, based on the same resource allocation, the third embodiment may require less HE-SIG-B symbols than the prior art, the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

Note that in the example of FIG. 8, the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 814-1 in the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall indicate a single relocated BCC block; while the number of relocated BCC blocks subfield 814-2 in the HE-SIG-B2 304 shall indicate no relocated BCC blocks.

According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, as an alternative to signal the number of relocated BCC blocks for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 in their respective common field 810, the number of relocated BCC blocks for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 can be signaled in the HE-SIG-A 110.

According to the first three embodiments of the present disclosure, the two HE-SIG-B channel fields (except the relocated BCC blocks in the second embodiment) make use of the same MCS, which is signaled in the HE-SIG-A 110. This common MCS for the two HE-SIG-B channel fields shall be determined so that all STAs scheduled in both the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 have an acceptable probability (e.g., 90%) of decoding the HE-SIG-B 112 successfully.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the MCS for one HE-SIG-B channel field may be different from the MCS used for the other HE-SIG-B channel field. Furthermore, the MCS used for one HE-SIG-B channel field which is longer than the other HE-SIG-B channel field may be less robust than the MCS used for the other HE-SIG-B channel field so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

Fourth Embodiment

According to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, a first MCS and a second MCS are used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304, respectively. The first MCS for the HE-SIG-B1 302 shall be determined so that STAs scheduled in the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 have an acceptable probability (e.g., 90%) of decoding the HE-SIG-B1 302 successfully. Similarly, the second MCS for the HE-SIG-B2 304 shall be determined so that STAs scheduled in the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 have an acceptable probability (e.g., 90%) of decoding the HE-SIG-B2 304 successfully. Since either the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 or the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 only takes into account a portion of STAs scheduled in both the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324, one of the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 may be less robust than the common MCS employed in the first three embodiments. Note that unlike the first three embodiments, no any BCC blocks in either the HE-SIG-B1 302 or the HE-SIG-B2 304 need to be relocated according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the signaling of indication the number of HE-SIG-B symbols, a signaling is required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304. Based on such signaling, STAs are able to decode the two HE-SIG-B channel fields properly.

According to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, if the HE-SIG-B1 302 is much longer than the HE-SIG-B2 304 in length before appending the padding bits (i.e., the HE-SIG-B1 302 includes much more user-specific subfields than the HE-SIG-B2 304), the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 may be set to be less robust than the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved. If the HE-SIG-B2 304 is much longer than the HE-SIG-B1 302 in length before appending the padding bits, the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 may be set to be less robust than the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized and channel efficiency is improved. If the HE-SIG-B2 304 has a similar length to the HE-SIG-B1 302, the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 may be set to be the same as the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the two HE-SIG-B channels comprises a common field 910 and a user-specific field 950.

Considering FIG. 9 is based on the same resource allocation as FIG. 5 to FIG. 8, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 14 and 7, respectively. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) for the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 6 and 3, respectively. Since the HE-SIG-B1 302 is much longer than the HE-SIG-B2 304 in length before appending the padding bits in this example, the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is set to be less robust than the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. For example, the first MCS used for the HE-SIG-B1 302 is set to VHT-MCS2 where N_(DBPS,1)=78 while the second MCS used for the HE-SIG-B2 304 is set to VHT-MCS1 where N_(DBPS,2)=52. Assume that

-   -   each common field 910 has a length of Lcf=22 bits; and     -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits.         So the number of the HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) becomes 6, which         can be calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {{N_{sym} = {\max \left\{ {\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},1}} - {\alpha_{1} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{{DBPS},1}} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{L_{cf} + {L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},2}} - {\alpha_{2} \times L_{uss}}}{N_{{DBPS},2}} \right\rceil} \right\}}},} & (12) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{i} = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},i}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix},{i = 0},1.} \right.} & (13) \end{matrix}$

In other words, based on the same resource allocation, the fourth embodiment may require less HE-SIG-B symbols than the prior art, the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, for some specific resource allocation, the common field (including resource allocation signaling) of each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields can be ignored so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus, overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

Fifth Embodiment

According to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, if a single RU of a particular type (e.g., Type IV RU) is allocated over each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 and the same number of users are scheduled in each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324, each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields may contain the user-specific field only so that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized. Thus, overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, a single Type IV RU used for MU-MIMO transmission with six users multiplexed is allocated over each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324. So each of the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 contains the user-specific field 1050 only. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk) per HE-SIG-B channel field is 6 and 3, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits; and     -   the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 is VHT-MCS1 where N_(DBPS)=52.         So the number of the HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) is 4, which can be         calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {N_{sym} = {\left\lceil \frac{{L_{blk} \times N_{blk}} - {\alpha \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil.}} & (14) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{uss}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix}.} \right.} & (15) \end{matrix}$

According to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the signaling of indicating the number of HE-SIG-B symbols and the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112, a signaling is required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the presence of a specific resource allocation where a single RU of a particular type is allocated over each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 and the same number of users are scheduled in each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324. Based on such signaling, STAs are able to decode the HE-SIG-B 112 properly.

According to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, since there is no resource allocation signaling in the two HE-SIG-B channels, STAs may not be able to determine the number of user-specific subfields per HE-SIG-B channel field N_(uss) Given that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym), the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112, and the value of α, the number of user-specific subfields per HE-SIG-B channel field can be determined by

N _(uss) =N _(blk)×2−α  (16)

where

$\begin{matrix} {N_{blk} = {\left\lfloor \frac{{N_{sym} \times N_{BDPS}} + {\alpha \times L_{uss}}}{L_{blk}} \right\rfloor.}} & (17) \end{matrix}$

In other words, for the purpose of assisting STAs in determining the number of user-specific subfield per HE-SIG-B channel field N_(uss), a signaling may be required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the value of αi, (i.e., to indicate whether there is an even number of user-specific subfields per HE-SIG-B channel field or equivalently to indicate whether there is an even number of users scheduled in each of the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channels 324).

Sixth Embodiment

According to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure, if the entire 40 MHz bandwidth which covers the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 is allocated for MU-MIMO transmission, each of the two HE-SIG-B channel fields may contain the user-specific field only. Furthermore, the user-specific subfields are split equitably between the two HE-SIG-B channel fields for efficient load-balancing. In more details, for MU-MIMO transmission with K users multiplexed, the first

$N_{{uss},1} = \left\lceil \frac{K}{2} \right\rceil$

user-specific subfields exist in the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the remaining

$N_{{uss},2} = {K - \left\lceil \frac{K}{2} \right\rceil}$

user-specific subfields exist in the HE-SIG-B2 304. Consequently, the number of HE-SIG-B symbols is minimized and thus overhead for reporting control signaling is reduced and channel efficiency is improved.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example format of the HE-SIG-B 112 of the HE packet 100 in case of CBW=40 MHz according to the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the entire 40 MHz bandwidth which covers both the first 20 MHz subband channel 322 and the second 20 MHz subband channel 324 is allocated for MU-MIMO transmission with seven users multiplexed. So each of the HE-SIG-B1 322 and the HE-SIG-B2 304 only contains the user-specific field 1150. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,1) in the HE-SIG-B1 302 is 4 and 2, respectively. The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) and the number of BCC blocks N_(blk,2) in the HE-SIG-B2 304 is 3 and 2, respectively. Assume that

-   -   each user-specific subfield has a length of L_(uss)=22 bits and         each BCC block comprising two user-specific subfields has a         length of L_(blk)=54 bits; and     -   the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 is VHT-MCS1 where N_(DBPS)=52.         So the number of the HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym) is 3, which can be         calculated by

$\begin{matrix} {N_{sym} = {\left\lceil \frac{{L_{blk} \times N_{{blk},1}} - {\alpha \times L_{uss}}}{N_{DBPS}} \right\rceil.}} & (18) \end{matrix}$

where

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha = \left\{ {\begin{matrix} {0,} & {{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},1}\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {even}\mspace{14mu} {number}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix}.} \right.} & (19) \end{matrix}$

According to the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the signaling of indicating the number of HE-SIG-B symbols and the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112, a signaling is required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the presence of a specific resource allocation where the entire channel bandwidth is allocated for MU-MIMO transmission. Based on such signaling, STAs are able to decode the HE-SIG-B 112 properly.

According to the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure, since there is no resource allocation signaling in the two HE-SIG-B channels, STAs may not be able to determine the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) in the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) in the HE-SIG-B2 304. Given that the number of HE-SIG-B symbols N_(sym), the MCS used for the HE-SIG-B 112 and the value of α, the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) in the HE-SIG-B1 302 can be determined by

N _(uss,1) =N _(blkk,1)×2−α  (20)

where

$\begin{matrix} {N_{{blk},1} = {\left\lfloor \frac{{N_{sym} \times N_{BDPS}} + {\alpha \times L_{uss}}}{L_{blk}} \right\rfloor.}} & (21) \end{matrix}$

The number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) in the HE-SIG-B2 304 can be determined by

N _(uss,2) =N _(blkk,1)−β  (22)

where

$\begin{matrix} {\beta = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {0,} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{{uss},2}} = N_{{uss},1}} \\ {1,} & {otherwise} \end{matrix} \right.} & (23) \end{matrix}$

In other words, for the purpose of assisting STAs in determining the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,1) in the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the number of user-specific subfields N_(uss,2) in the HE-SIG-B2 304, a signaling may be required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the value of α (i.e., to indicate whether there is an even number of user-specific subfields in the HE-SIG-B1 302) and the value off β (i.e., to indicate whether there is equal number of user-specific subfields in both the HE-SIG-B1 302 and the HE-SIG-B2 304). Alternatively, a signaling may be required in the HE-SIG-A 110 to indicate the remainder of the number of users multiplexed in MU-MIMO transmission divided by four. The remainder equal to zero implies α=0 and β=0. The remainder equal to one implies α=0 and β=1. The remainder equal to two implies α=1 and β=0. The remainder equal to three implies α=0 and β=1.

<Configuration of an Access Point>

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the AP according to the present disclosure. The AP comprises a controller 1202, a scheduler 1204, a message generator 1208, a message processor 1206, a PHY processor 1210 and an antenna 1212. The antenna 1212 can be comprised of one antenna port or a combination of a plurality of antenna ports. The controller 1202 is a MAC protocol controller and controls general MAC protocol operations. For DL transmission, the scheduler 1204 performs frequency scheduling under the control of the controller 1202 based on channel quality indicators (CQIs) from STAs and assigns data for STAs to RUs. The scheduler 1204 also outputs the resource assignment results to the message generator 1208. The message generator 1208 generates corresponding control signaling (i.e., common control information, resource assignment information and per-user allocation information) and data for scheduled STAs, which are formulated by the PHY processor 1210 into the HE packets and transmitted through the antenna 1212. The control signaling can be configured according to the above mentioned embodiments. On the other hand, the message processor 1206 analyzes the received CQIs from STAs through the antenna 1212 under the control of the controller 1202 and provides them to scheduler 1204 and controller 1202. These CQIs are received quality information reported from the STAs. The CQI may also be referred to as “CSI” (Channel State Information).

<Configuration of a STA>

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the STA according to the present disclosure. The STA comprises a controller 1302, a message generator 1304, a message processor 1306, a PHY processor 1308 and an antenna 1310. The controller 1302 is a MAC protocol controller and controls general MAC protocol operations. The antenna 1310 can be comprised of one antenna port or a combination of a plurality of antenna ports. For DL transmission, the antenna 1310 receives downlink signal including HE packets, and the message processor 1306 identifies its designated RUs and its specific allocation information from the control signaling included in the received HE packet, and decodes its specific data from the received HE packet at its designated RUs according to its specific allocation information. The control signaling included in the HE packets can be configured according to the above mentioned embodiments. The message processor 1306 estimates channel quality from the received HE packet through the antenna 1310 and provides them to controller 1302. The message generator 1304 generates CQI message, which is formulated by the PHY processor 1308 and transmitted through the antenna 1310.

In the foregoing embodiments, the present disclosure is configured with hardware by way of example, but the disclosure may also be provided by software in cooperation with hardware.

In addition, the functional blocks used in the descriptions of the embodiments are typically implemented as LSI devices, which are integrated circuits. The functional blocks may be formed as individual chips, or a part or all of the functional blocks may be integrated into a single chip. The term “LSI” is used herein, but the terms “IC,” “system LSI,” “super LSI” or “ultra LSI” may be used as well depending on the level of integration.

In addition, the circuit integration is not limited to LSI and may be achieved by dedicated circuitry or a general-purpose processor other than an LSI. After fabrication of LSI, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which is programmable, or a reconfigurable processor which allows reconfiguration of connections and settings of circuit cells in LSI may be used.

Should a circuit integration technology replacing LSI appear as a result of advancements in semiconductor technology or other technologies derived from the technology, the functional blocks could be integrated using such a technology. Another possibility is the application of biotechnology and/or the like.

This disclosure can be applied to a method for formatting and transmitting resource assignment information in a wireless communications system. 

1. A transmission apparatus comprising: a transmission signal generator which, in operation, generates a transmission signal that includes a legacy preamble, a non-legacy preamble and a data field, wherein the non-legacy preamble comprises a first signal field and a second signal field, the second signal field comprising a first channel field and a second channel field that corresponds to a second frequency subband different from the first frequency subband, wherein when a first signaling in the first signal field indicates that a full bandwidth containing the first frequency subband and the second frequency subband is allocated for multi-user (MU) MIMO transmission, the first signal field comprises a second signaling for indicating a number of user-specific subfields contained in the second signal field; and a transmitter which, in operation, transmits the generated transmission signal.
 2. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates the full bandwidth is allocated for the MU MIMO transmission, a plurality of user-specific subfields are split equitably between the first channel field and the second channel field.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first channel field and the second channel field comprises a user-specific field that includes multiple user-specific subfields, each user-specific subfield carrying information for a corresponding terminal station.
 5. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is allocated for the MU MIMO transmission, a common field that carries resource assignment information is not present in each of the first channel field and the second channel field.
 6. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first channel field and the second channel field includes a common field that carries resource assignment information when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is not allocated for the MU MIMO transmission. 7-15. (canceled)
 16. A transmission method comprising: generating a transmission signal that includes a legacy preamble, a non-legacy preamble and a data field, wherein the non-legacy preamble comprises a first signal field and a second signal field, the second signal field comprising a first channel field that corresponds to a first frequency subband and a second channel field that corresponds to a second frequency subband different from the first frequency subband, wherein when a first signaling in the first signal field indicates that a full bandwidth containing the first frequency subband and the second frequency subband is allocated for multi-user (MU) MIMO transmission, the first signal field comprises a second signaling for indicating a number of user-specific subfields contained in the second signal field; and transmitting the generated transmission signal.
 17. The transmission method according to claim 16, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates the full bandwidth is allocated for the MU MIMO transmission, a plurality of user-specific subfields are split equitably between the first channel field and the second channel field.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The transmission method according to claim 16, wherein each of the first channel field and the second channel field comprises a user-specific field that includes multiple user-specific subfields, each user-specific subfield carrying information for a corresponding terminal station.
 20. The transmission method according to claim 16, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is allocated for the MU MIMO transmission, a common field that carries resource assignment information is not present in each of the first channel field and the second channel field.
 21. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is not allocated for MU MIMO transmission, each of the first channel field and the second channel field in the second signal field includes a common field that carries resource assignment information; and when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is allocated MU MIMO transmission, the common field that carries resource assignment information is not present in each of the first channel field and the second channel field.
 22. The transmission method according to claim 16, wherein each of the first channel field and the second channel field includes a common field that carries resource assignment information when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is not allocated for the MU MIMO transmission.
 23. The transmission method according to claim 16, wherein, when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full bandwidth is not allocated for MU MIMO transmission, each of the first channel field and the second channel field in the second signal field includes a common field that carries resource assignment information; and when the first signaling in the first signal field indicates that the full is allocated MU MIMO transmission, the common field that carries resource assignment information is not present in each of the first channel field and the second channel field. 